[TryingToMoveForward]

Does picking at your skin count as self-harm? Like when my lips are chapped and pealing, I have to pick at them. The dry skin feels horrible, and although there is some pain when the skin is peeled, it doesn't bother me. It almost feels good. Its kind of a compulsion. I just remember people trying to stop me from doing this in the past. Which made me feel anxious. I guess its kind of soothing.

I don't know, I was thinking about it tonight because my lips are peeling and I wondered why I'm not like other people who can resist the urge to take the skin off.

[Seraphine]

I'm not really sure, the pain factor might make that yes? Best thing you can do is prevention. No more peeling skin = no temptation to pick

[Seraphine]

But fwiw, I peel too when it's cracked, though not to the point of pain. Those little edges are annoying!

[TryingToMoveForward]

I always use lip balm. I put it on obsessively because I hate peeling chapped lips. They drive me crazy, but I've been having a runny nose and was a little negligent so now I have peeling lips. I really do think its a soothing habit. Sometimes I dig my skin too, but I catch myself before actually breaking the skin, then make myself stop. But attmittedly there's a spot on the back of my head I itch compulsively, and I broke the skin. I'm making the best effort I can to not itch or pick at it to make it worse. I use to dig my scalp until I had...damaged the skin in various places to the point of bleeding. It was so embarrassing to get my hair cut that I stopped myself from engaging in that behavior.

[DBTDiva]

Originally Posted by TryingToMoveForward

Does picking at your skin count as self-harm? Like when my lips are chapped and pealing, I have to pick at them. The dry skin feels horrible, and although there is some pain when the skin is peeled, it doesn't bother me. It almost feels good. Its kind of a compulsion. I just remember people trying to stop me from doing this in the past. Which made me feel anxious. I guess its kind of soothing.

I don't know, I was thinking about it tonight because my lips are peeling and I wondered why I'm not like other people who can resist the urge to take the skin off.

Yeah it does. I didn't realize that until I was part of an emotional regulation study. The questionaire asked about not letting wounds heal and I feel an almost obsessive compulsive need to pick scabs. I find it soothing, like what you're describing. I didn't know it was an issue before that, it was just something I always did. Lush makes a lip exfoliant that is a sugar scrub. It helps chapped lips a lot plus it tastes good. You might try that if you have a lot of problems with it. I do during the winter and I find the lush lip scrub + the body shop hemp chapstick is the greatest combo ever.

[DBTDiva]

I chew my cuticles too, sometimes completely mindlessly. I used to have to always keep bandaids around because I'd look down and my finger would be bleeding. I've always chalked that one up to anxiety though.

[ScarletPimpernel]

Skin picking is also known as trichotillomania. It's more an anxiety symptom than a self-harm act.

I will "scan" my body for imperfections by passing my hand over my skin. If I find a blemish, pimple, scab, etc. I will pick it. The more anxiety I have, the worse the picking gets. Wounds start to grow in size. Stopping is difficult to do partially because I don't always realize I'm doing it. So I either have to keep clothes on all parts of my body (in winter), or I have to put bandaids on all the spots to make me realize what I'm doing.

Originally Posted by ScarletPimpernel

Skin picking is also known as trichotillomania. It's more an anxiety symptom than a self-harm act.

Almost right - skin picking is dermotillomania. Hair pulling is trichotillomania.

[ScarletPimpernel]

Originally Posted by Breadfish

Almost right - skin picking is dermotillomania. Hair pulling is trichotillomania.

Ty. Lol. I just woke up and realized I wrote the wrong one! Ty for the correction.

[xavier.s]

i pick the skin off my lips until i bleed most of the time. Also pick off scabs and such, it feels very soothing like you said. I do it a lot more when I'm anxious, also i pull at my eyebrows.

[henrydavidtherobot]

I'd say it's more of an anxiety symptom. Self-harm usually involves overcoming a strong emotion or feeling empty.